Author: Kelli Fletcher

219 Award-Winning Inspirations

Kelli FletcherAwards, Blog, Professional Development, Public Relations, ,

There are many things that inspire us: our workspace, coffee, our teammates, the DTR vibe. But it is fair to say that that nothing inspires us more than our clients. We’re always striving to be creative, efficient, thorough and most of all fun, while helping them reach goals and achieve success. And in turn, their success equals ours. So when it comes time to celebrate our work, we’re not too shy about doing just that, because we’re proud of what we do and we love doing it. Last night, Clairemont celebrated our 2018 client work with some big wins at the 2019 Inspire Awards.

Hosted by the North Carolina Chapter of the PRSA, the Inspire Awards recognize the best public relations campaigns and tactics from North Carolina’s Triangle to its Coast. PR pros from the region submit their work to a panel of judges from other PRSA Chapters for consideration for Silver and Bronze Awards.

2019 PRSA Inspire Awards

This year, Clairemont received a total of 19 awards, including six Best in Category awards and the Bronze Best In Show.

  • Bronze Award for Best in Show for “Media Relations: A Royal Media Affair with Lord Spencer and Theodore Alexander”
  • Award of Excellence and Best in Category for “Integrated Communications: Governments/Associations/Nonprofit Organizations: Lighting a Fire for Everyday Heroes”
  • Award of Excellence and Best in Category for “Websites: Briar Chapel’s Website Refresh”
  • Award of Excellence and Best in Category for “Editorials/Op-Ed Columns: WGU North Carolina Takes Higher Education to Another Level”
  • Award of Excellence and Best in Category for “Media Relations: Theodore Alexander and Lord Spencer Unveil Royal Furniture”
  • Award of Excellence and Best in Category for “Events and Observances: Theodore Alexander and Charles, 9th Earl Spencer Debut Royal Furniture Line”
  • Award of Excellence and Best in Category for “Reputation/Brand Management: Western Governors University Builds a Brand in North Carolina”
  • Bronze Award of Excellence for “Feature Story: Briar Chapel Feature Story”
  • Bronze Award of Excellence for “Media Relations: A Royal Media Affair with Lord Spencer and Theodore Alexander”
  • Bronze Award of Excellence for “Media Relations: Vita Vite Hosts a Toast-Worthy Preview”
  • Bronze Award of Excellence for “Social Media: Reimagining Holiday Traditions with Riceland”
  • Silver Honorable Mention for “Marketing Consumer Products/Services: Carrie Knowles – A Laureate’s New Laurels”
  • Bronze Honorable Mention for “Video News Releases/Satellite Media Tours/Internal External Video Programs: Wendell Falls: Open Campaign Videos”

Thank you to our amazing clients! We are grateful for the opportunity to do what we love and love what we do!

Want to explore how we can create a winning campaign for your business? Drop us a line!

Read More

Networking in the Age of the Internet

Kelli FletcherBlog, Professional Development, Public Relations, ,

Networking is about collecting relationships with interesting or influential people regardless of the immediate benefit. If you have social media, you’re already good at this. After all, you collect friends and followers on all platforms. You post to get their approval through “likes” and “comments.” You use hashtags to make yourself and your content easily searchable, and you seek others to follow who will add something interesting to your feed.

But, ask yourself: when was the last time you met an acquaintance for coffee midday or drinks after work? How long has it been since you slunk into a room of professionals, put your name on a sticker and mingled in search of (cringe face) … small talk? Yeah, it’s been awhile for me, too.

Which begs the question, has our evolved technological communication actually devolved our personal interactions? Because of this, is the age-old art of networking dying in the Internet age?

With numerous articles crediting “Millennial Burnout” (is it even just Millennials?) to our constant connectivity, it’s almost impossible to remember that tuning out and turning off is something that must be done from time to time.

And networking just may be the thing for which to stop scrolling and start shaking hands. While there’s a lot to like about curated feeds and pumped-up LinkedIn profiles, there’s something quite nice about building relationships with actual people, which is the whole point of networking. And today, it’s more than matching a face with a name. Matching a personalized interaction with a face still matters.

So, get up and get out there! Make the most of meeting new people and networking in your city. There’s no doubt that opportunities will come from it – even if it’s just keeping your communication skills honed! As you mingle, here are some tips to keep in mind:

Don’t limit your network.

It doesn’t necessarily matter if someone is inside or outside of your industry, if they are influential, commit to connecting with that person. Often, a third party can offer fresh perspectives and make new introductions.

Go for quality not quantity.

Don’t just shake a bunch of hands and collect cards. Take time to have a real discussion. In the middle of a great conversation with someone? Don’t feel the need to move on so quickly. While you should be aware of their time (and your own), don’t be afraid to become engaged. The goal is to make meaningful – not numerous – connections.

Listen, then show them you heard.  

When first joining a group of people, take a few minutes to listen and then enter the conversation with a comment that adds to the discussion. Nothing will stop a conversation faster than focusing on yourself.

Follow up!

Don’t miss the opportunity to follow up! Send a note to each person with whom you exchanged information and remark on your interaction. Mention something specific to make the connection personal. Follow through on offers made to connect them and/or scheduling lunch. Keep the momentum going.

Want more tips on how to make important business connections? Check out our video post!

Read More

WGU North Carolina & Mako Medical

Kelli FletcherBlog, Clairemont Client News, Public Relations,

Below is the latest announcement from our client, WGU North Carolina.

WGU North Carolina Offers $500,000 in Scholarships to Mako Medical Employees

Partnership agreement paves the way for employees to earn degrees debt-free

WGU North Carolina, an affiliate of the national online nonprofit Western Governors University, has signed a partnership agreement with Mako Medical Laboratories that will help Mako employees advance their professional development and personal education goals through scholarship opportunities with degrees in business, IT or healthcare. As an organization known for only employing veterans for many of their positions, and in alignment with WGU North Carolina’s outreach to the military community, Mako Medical supports military veterans in their pursuit of meaningful employment and career success. 

All employees of Mako Medical will be eligible to apply for special Bridge to Success Scholarships from a dedicated fund of $500,000 just for them. A designated WGU scholarship team member will work one-on-one with each employee to help them through the financial aid process to ensure they are maximizing all grant options available, and then help them apply for last-dollar funds to make it possible to earn their degree debt-free.

Additionally, employees will receive an application fee waiver code, and have access to WGU career services resources and onsite events such as lunch-and-learn sessions.


Signed, sealed, delivered! Josh Arant, Founder and COO of Mako Medical, Catherine Truitt, Chancellor WGU North Carolina, and Chad Price, Founder and CEO of Mako Medical

WGU is an accredited online university offering more than 60 bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in healthcare, IT, business and K-12 education. The university has more than 114,000 students enrolled nationwide, including more than 3,100 in North Carolina. Tuition is around $3,225 per six-month term for most degree programs.

“Mako Medical has been named the fastest growing company in the Triangle for three years running,” said WGU North Carolina Chancellor Catherine Truitt. “As the company continues to achieve unprecedented growth, we look forward to helping its employees achieve success through a competency-based education model that is flexible, affordable and conducive to the needs of working adults.”

“Our company is proud to hire a large number of veterans who have the desire and discipline to improve their knowledge and skills while serving our overall mission of providing industry-leading laboratory services to patients and healthcare professionals,” said Chad Price, founder and CEO of Mako Medical. “This partnership with WGU North Carolina will allow our employees to apply for scholarships at a student-centered university with a proven model that recognizes their existing knowledge and fosters accelerated learning.”

For more information about WGU North Carolina, visit www.wgu.edu/north-carolina.html. To learn more about Mako Medical, visit www.makomedical.com. 

About WGU North Carolina WGU North Carolina is an online competency-based university established to expand access to higher education for North Carolina residents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the fields of business, K-12 teacher education, information technology, and health professions, including nursing. Degrees are granted under the accreditation of WGU, which is accredited through the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). Teachers College programs are accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), College of Business programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), and nursing programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). CCNE is located at 655 K St., NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791. Learn more at http://northcarolina.wgu.edu. 

About Mako Medical Laboratories
Mako Medical Laboratories has quickly become one of the most desired laboratories in the United States. Winning over 12 major awards—it has become a diagnostic partner for businesses, physicians, urgent care facilities, and many hospitals around the United States. Mako Medical Laboratories has recruited the top Ph.Ds., chemists, and scientists to provide industry-leading innovation. Mako Medical Laboratories has developed many custom and proprietary tests and uses robotics/automation to improve precision and accuracy. They have won awards for growth, innovation, best places to work, charitable work, and from the Department of Labor for employing military veterans. Mako is also known for supporting over 470 nonprofits and charities, and many international causes. For more information, visit www.makomedical.com.

Read More

Tackling TV: The Power of Broadcast

Kelli FletcherBlog, Clairemont Client News, Public Relations, ,

When client WGU North Carolina partnered with the USO of North Carolina to offer $20,000 in scholarships for the state’s military community, Clairemont wanted to spread the word far and wide. Targeting multiple online and print media outlets, Clairemont tackled both small-town and big-city papers in an effort to reach audiences across the state. While Clairemont secured coverage in rural publications – a target market for WGU North Carolina – our team wanted to take coverage to the next level and score a top-tier broadcast hit for our client.

Image from WNCT-TV’s coverage.

While Clairemont had client assets ready to offer stations on the spot, including a news release and a video of WGU North Carolina’s chancellor speaking about the partnership, we knew we needed more. To give us a better shot, our team went back to the drawing board to tailor our original pitch to TV. What resulted was a powerful, timely angle that grabbed the attention of multiple reporters at TV stations in different markets. We secured two traditional TV coverage opportunities as well as an in-depth piece on Spectrum News. Spectrum’s coverage highlighted WGU North Carolina’s partnership with the USO, showcasing how the university was helping solve a critical problem – the reintegration of veterans into civilian society. The piece included interviews with WGU North Carolina Chancellor Catherine Truitt, a rep from the USO of North Carolina, and a veteran who was also an incoming student at WGU North Carolina and could speak to education as an important part of his reintegration. The complete story was shared across reporters’ Facebook pages and online, and also aired multiple times throughout the day in both Raleigh and Charlotte. Needless to say, our client was thrilled with the results and is still able to leverage the coverage to this day.

Image from Spectrum News coverage.

Whether a short segment or an in-depth interview, securing a TV story for a client is always a win. And while it can often seem daunting and even intimidating to pitch broadcast media, the Clairemont team has refined our pitch process to a T.

Want to hear more about how we may be able to secure TV coverage for your business? Drop us a line!

Read More

The Big Deal With Small Influencers

Kelli FletcherBlog, Marketing, Social Media + Influencer Engagement, , ,

Long before 2018 was dubbed “The Year of the Influencer,” brands were tapping celebrities to peddle their products for a fine fee. Turns out, a recognizable face could persuade the masses to try a new item or even switch their loyalty to a new brand. But it’s no big secret that looks and style have always had selling power.

In today’s social-media-soaked world, Andy Warhol’s famous words – “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes” – have never rang more true, largely thanks to Instagram.

When Instagram launched in the fall of 2010 (only eight years ago!), the possibilities were limited. People who didn’t have an iPhone couldn’t access it, so its user network was low. But even as its numbers grew, Instagram’s content retained a real-ness. People were sharing snaps from their life that were authentic, in real time and even a bit – gasp – unplanned. Now, nearly nine years later, 1 billion people are using Instagram all over the world. And each day, or so it seems, the platform is churning out hundreds of influencers for you to discover. That’s a lot of curated content. In fact, no longer is there just one type of influencer. The group is divided into categories. You have your influencer (50,000+ followers), your micro influencer (10,000-50,000 followers) and now the nano influencer.

The nano influencer is the newest wave of ‘Gram groupies. They represent the “normal” everyday consumer who keeps a small group of 1,000 to 5,000 followers. The key to nano influencers is their authenticity. Because they keep their community selective, they tend to be more trusted by their followers. That trust and relatable-ness can compel consumers to buy. In a New York Times article that was published last year, it was suggested that it’s the “lack of fame” that makes nano influencers so approachable. When they recommend a product or brand on Instagram, it feels like a recommendation from a friend.

And big brands have taken notice. Kate Edwards, the COO of social marketing technology startup, Heartbeat, recently shared with Forbes that “brands are moving away from influencers and celebrities, and more towards recognizing the voices of everyday consumers.”

And that’s just it. These nano influencers have only slightly curated feeds. They don’t require drawn out contracts. And they don’t use middleman managers to communicate. But most of all, they look a lot like, well … you. Their lifestyle is reachable; their word is reputable. In short, they’re real.

While it might look that Instagram did to authenticity what the digital camera did to candid photos, we do seem to be searching for a return to realism. And that’s refreshing. So the next time you’re scouring the “search” tab for new people to follow, consider on-boarding some nano influencers into your feed. Their content is sure to be inspiring in a much-needed fresh and relatable way.

Want to explore an influencer program for your brand? Drop us a line!

Read More